Yesterday, this beautiful little Australasian Grebe was pottering about in an inlet of Manly Dam:

This grebe is wearing its breeding plumage, with a large chestnut patch stretching from its eye down its neck, and that odd yellow patch at the base of its beak. Outside the breeding season, the yellow patch turns white and the bird’s neck is a dark grey-brown to match its back.

Fun fact: Grebes eat their own feathers and also feed their feathers to their young. People think the goal is to make it easier to swallow fish bones, by wrapping around the bones and preventing injury to the bird.

Another fun fact: Grebes have big feet with lobed toes, more like those of coots than ducks. I’ve never seen a grebe out of the water., but I do have a picture of a coot’s feet, which are rather adorable: The foot of the Coot.

Common name: Australasian Grebe
Scientific name: Tachybaptus novaehollandiae
Approximate length: 23-25 cm
Date spotted: 25 March 2026 (autumn)
Location: Manly Dam Park, near Sydney, Australia: 33°46’34.8″S 151°14’49.6″E